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The European Migration Period (c. AD 400–550) was characterised by political, social and economic instability. Recent excavations at Sandby borg ringfort on the island of Öland in Sweden have revealed indisputable evidence of a massacre which occurred at that time. Osteological, contextual and artefactual evidence strongly suggest that the fort was abandoned immediately following the attack and was left undisturbed throughout antiquity. Sandby borg offers a unique snapshot of domestic life and abrupt death in the Scandinavian Migration Period, and provides evidence highly relevant to studies of ancient conflict, and on social and military aspects of Iron Age and Migration Period societies.

Drawing on data from the megalithic tomb in Resmo on Öland in the Baltic Sea, we use a multi-isotopic approach, involving the systematic treatment and modelling of extensive human and faunal isotopic data ( 14C, δ13C, δ15N, δ34S and 87Sr/86Sr), along with archaeological contextual evidence, to study change and interaction. The fact that people utilize aquatic resources necessitates modelling of the sulphur and strontium isotope data, to prevent the aquatic contribution from obscuring the local terrestrial signal. It was possible to demonstrate how the people buried in Resmo went through dynamic changes in diet, mobility patterns and cultural identity during more than two millennia of burial practice: from the incipient farmers of the Funnel Beaker Culture, through the cultural encounters and transitions during the Middle Neolithic, to the newcomers furthering intensified agriculture, trade and metal craftsmanship during the Bronze Age.

This report presents the results from the excavation by Linnaeus University in September 2016 of a ship-shaped stone setting at Albrunna, SW Öland, Sweden. The work was initiated by the ac- cidental falling of the 4.5 m tall phallic Albrunna stone in 2014, and the subsequent plans of erecting a copy on the spot of the original stone. Earlier records describe the stone as part of a ship- shaped monument, an indication that the excavation managed to confirm. Through soil-stripping with an excavator, the dark colourations left by the removed stones revealed a c. 30 m long and 6 m wide ship-shaped monument, oriented in an approx- imately north-to-south direction. The dating of the monument is difficult, and the excavation results provide no clear answer. Judging on its layout and relation to surrounding sites, late Iron Age is a plausible suggestion, altough a Bronze Age date can- not be excluded. Finds were scarce but included a handful of fragments of burnt bone, as well as unburned bone in relatively small amounts. Of more recent date but still interesting in con- nection to the biographical history of the monument, a glass jar containing a hand-written letter was found hidden between the large phallic Albrunna stone and the boulder against which it was leaning. The letter was dated May 2012 and contained questions to the future from a young couple in times of trouble. After the excavation was finished, a casting was made of the original stone and the concrete copy was erected at the original site in May 2017.

This report presents the results of an archaeological site evaluation and a subsequent archaeological excavation performed by Kalmar county museum in August and November 2008, at Björnhovda 1:27, parish of Torslunda, Öland, southeast Sweden. The aim was initially to establish the spatial distribution within the appointed area of two previously recorded Stone Age settlement sites, but it was soon realised that activities in historical times to a large extent have erased the traces of Stone Age settlement. However, in a low-lying area between the two sites two rock axes were found deposited close together, in what turned out to be a late Neolithic flat earth burial in which no skeletal remains were preserved. The find resulted in a following excavation aiming at finishing the excavation of the newly found burial and by means of further soil stripping establishing its archaeological context. The excavation resulted in the detection of another 4 features of possible burial character, none of which contained grave goods or skeletal remains. All features interpreted as possible burials were sampled for phosphate analysis, and the results were expexted to facilitate the interpretation of the function of the features. Most of the samples turned out to contain low phosphate amounts, however. Variation was low and the resulting pattern was not in any straightforward way possible to connect to the spatial outline of the features. Thus the phosphate analysis did not present the full answer, but based on a number of related circumstances it is argued that the excavated features most probably represent a cemetery containing (at least) 5 burials from the late Neolithic. As a background to this information a compliation of earlier excavated late Neolithic burials on Öland is presented.

This report presents the results from an archaeological trial excavation performed by Kalmar County Museum during two days in August 2008 at Pettersholm, western Öland, southeast Sweden. The area is planned for the construction of two houses, and the investigation aimed at delimiting the occurrence of prehistoric and historic remains within the area and document the features encountered. The excavation resulted in one single sunken feature, consisting of a pit c 0,65 m in diameter and containing the almost complete skeletal remains of a calf and in addition six flint flakes and a handful of fragments of burnt bone. The calf was 14C-dated to c 3500-3100 cal BC, corresponding to the late Early and early Middle Neolithic. This makes it the oldest securely dated find of cattle on Öland, and actually the oldest complete skeleton of a cow encountered in all of Sweden. Since no other sunken features were found within the area and since the ”cow pit” was completely excavated, no further archaeological work is suggested. The find however makes the area adjacent to the west a potential hotspot for future excavations, since the pit probably is connected to a larger context extending in this direction.

This paper deals with the topic of cultural identity in archaeology, and especially the significance of pottery in the Pitted Ware culture. A brief discussion on the theoretical aspects of cultural identity in general and its relation to ceramics in particular is followed by a short presentation of the Neolithic remains on the island of Öland in the Baltic. The Pitted Ware site in Köpingsvik is further discussed, and the pottery from an excavation at the site in 1950 is presented in some detail. A key term in the ceramic study is variation, and it is argued that previous research often have held a biased view of the ceramic craft of the Pitted Ware culture, presenting it as primitive and rough as opposed to the more elaborate and aesthetic Funnel Beaker pottery. In line with this view the ceramic assemblages of the Pitted Ware culture is often presented as homogeneous and unproblematic, and interpreted as reflecting one-sided activities supposedly related to subsistence and economy. Instead, it is here argued that Pitted Ware assemblages in fact display large variations, with numerous different vessel- and ware types. The occurrence of miniature vessels is seen as an indication of the social significance of the ceramic craft. The Pitted Ware pottery, it is argued, reflect a differentiated and dynamic craft, most probably highly valued by its contemporary society and yet with a position very different from that of the partly contemporary TRB culture. The differences go further than vessel shapes and styles of decoration, and should rather be studied on the level of social meaning attached to the ceramic craft itself and its products.

20. Late Neolithic burial practice on the island of Öland, SE Sweden

Papmehl-Dufay, Ludvig

Linnaeus University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Cultural Sciences. Kalmar County Museum.

This paper deals with Late Neolithic burials found on the Swedish Island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. A brief review of the hitherto known burials from this period on the Island is followed by the presentation of a recent find at Björnhovda, southwest Öland. Here at least one, and possibly as many as five, Late Neolithic traces of burials were found and excavated during autumn 2008. The site is presented in some detail, and these burials are compared to the evidence presented in the brief review of Late Neolithic burial practices on Öland. In conclusion it is shown that burial customs during the Late Neolithic were greatly varied in this area, although a number of features can be identified which appear in the majority of the burials and thus possibly indicate some form of common customs.

This paper deals with ceramics of the middle Neolithic (c. 3300-2300 BC) Pitted Ware culture in eastern Sweden, particularly the recently excavated site Ottenby Royal Manor on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. Following a brief discussion about pottery and culture in general and Pitted Ware ceramics in particular, the ceramic assemblage from Ottenby Royal Manor is focussed upon. This site can be dated roughly to the period 3100-2800 cal BC. A detailed recording of various sherd-parameters on the whole assemblage has been combined with lipid residue and ceramic thin section analyses on smaller samples, as well as local raw clay samples, in order to provide a foundation for a multi-facetted image of the social and practical role of the ceramic craft. The results of the lipid residue analysis indicate a complicated pattern of vessel use dominated by vegetables but also including marine as well as terrestrial animals, and the mineralogical analysis suggests that, apart from a dominating local production, some vessels (or sherds) have been brought to the site from other areas. Throughout the paper the established image of Pitted Ware ceramics as simple, rough and homogeneous is put into question. It is argued that the ceramic craft has held a central social position within the Pitted Ware culture, evidenced among other things by the large amounts of pottery on the sites, the dominance for decorated vessels and the occurrence of vessel miniatures.

The thesis is concerned with pottery and culture during the Middle Neolithic (c. 3300 – 2300 cal BC) in southeast Sweden. Its purpose is to investigate and discuss the significance of pottery in the Pitted Ware culture, particularly on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. The history of research concerning this subject area is recounted and the known Neolithic remains from the island of Öland are reviewed. The two Pitted Ware sites so far excavated on the island, Köpingsvik and Ottenby Royal Manor, are presented in detail, and ceramics from these two sites are used in the pottery analysis that makes up the empirical core of the work. The assemblages are approached by similar methods and by posing similar questions, and the analytical methods used include recording of the large ceramic assemblages (aspects of design), microscopic analysis of ceramic thin sections and raw clay samples (aspects of raw material use and pottery technology) and lipid residue analysis performed on extracts from pulverised ceramic ware (aspects of pottery use). The results clearly point to a rather elaborate and socially embedded ceramic craft tradition, with a strong preference for decorated vessels and clearly defined ideas on how the pots should be produced and what they should look like. The technological analysis revealed a rather complicated and restricted raw material situation, with which the potters coped partly by developing local tempering traditions. The functional analysis revealed a striking variability in pottery use between the two sites. The various differences in pottery observed between the two sites are discussed in terms of local sub-traditions within the overall Pitted Ware ceramic tradition, that may have developed through the work of individual potters and contacts with different areas and groups of people. In this way an attempt is made to view pottery and the ceramic craft in the Pitted Ware culture from a more dynamic perspective.

This paper deals with pottery and cultural identity during the middle Neolithic (c. 3300–2300 cal BC) in Southeast Sweden. The problem area treated is very large, and what is said below reflects several of my previously published cases on the subject (e.g. Papmehl-Dufay 2003, 2004, in press) as well as my recently published PhD thesis (2006). Here I approached ceramic materials from a specific time period in a specific area, and with the aid of different analytical methods tried to illuminate various technological and practical issues that I assume have been socially embedded. The general aim of the study was to investigate the role of pottery within the so-called Pitted Ware culture in southeast Sweden. Two large pottery assemblages from two sites on the island of Öland were approached with similar questions and similar methods, intending to reveal similarities and differences in the production and use of ceramic products on the island during the period. Methods used include recording and statistical treatment of large ceramic assemblages, lipid residue analysis by means of Gas Chromatography combined with Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), and technological analysis of clays and wares in binocular microscope and thin section. In the following a brief review of the problems and the results will be given, and the issue of pottery and cultural identity will be touched upon.

This report presents the results of an archaeological trial excavation performed during 2 days at Skarpa Alby, eastern Öland. The excavation was initiated by plans for the construction of a new stable, and managed to locate previously unknown prehistoric settlement remains with some 70 sunken features documented. Of the 26 features excavated, the majority was interpreted as postholes. No artifacts were found, and the dating of the site is mainly based on 14C-dates from 2 features. Charcoal from a hearth was dated to the late Mesolithic (c. 4400-4200 cal BC), while burnt bone from another hearth was dated to the late Middle Neolithic (c. 2900-2400 cal BC). The earlier date is difficult to interpret given the uncertain contextual association of the dated material, while the later date through the burnt bone can be more sequrely associated with human activities on the site. A date of the site to the Middle Neolithic is in good accordance with the previously documented fi nds to the NW of the appointed area, however the dated bones suggest a continuation through to the later part of this period, MNB, which was not indicated by the previously known finds.

In this paper the Middle Neolithic coastal society in eastern Sweden is examined. The archaeological remains of the Pitted Ware culture from the island of Öland are focussed upon. The archaeological concept of culture is discussed, as well as different aspects that might be of importance for our understanding of the Pitted Ware culture, such as insularity, cosmology and religion. I argue that by bringing concepts like these into the discussion, the horizon of interpretation becomes wider. As far as the Pitted Ware culture is concerned, it is argued that the coastal landscape, i.e. the archipelago, the islands and the sea, had a major influence on the religious perceptions of this presumed cultural entity. The significance of islands in the world of the Pitted Ware culture is thus examined and a brief outline is given on the use of islands and insularity in archaeology. It is further argued that what we call the Pitted Ware culture might represent a system of religious beliefs, where the sea, the seals, the pottery and the large islands all played roles of varying importance.

In this paper a biographical approach to the history of Neolithic passage graves is suggested. Focus is on the passage grave at Mysinge, SE Sweden that was excavated in the early 20th century and has been subject to a range of analyses since. Various investigations of the tomb, following the excavation in 1908 and continuing to this day, are reviewed and the results from the different analyses are brought together in a discussion of the long-term use of the site as a burial monument.

In this paper, the critical role of the archaeological excavation as a source of scientific knowledge is emphasised. The point of departure is the Neolithic on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. Examples from three recently performed small-scale excavations on the island are presented, in an attempt to illustrate that not only large-scale excavations in typical locations have a large scientific potential. In connection to this discussion, the concepts of deductive and inductive excavation strategies are presented. Furthermore, the importance of public outreach in connection to excavations is stressed, and it is argued that in order to reach a broader audience, we need to think outside the box and dare tread new paths in terms of communication media as well as in terms of the message we deliver. At one of the excavations exemplified, some effort was put into public outreach, and among other things participant public archaeology was conducted. This was very successful, and it is argued that most excavations situated close to settled areas have the potential of presenting to the public an exciting glimpse of archaeology as an important and valuable enterprise.

This report presents the results from a trial excavation at Tings Ene 1:1, Köpingsvik, parish of Köping, Öland, performed by Kalmar County Museum in September 2007. The excavation was occasioned by plans of a new house, and the area is known to host a wide range of prehistoric remains from Mesolithic cultural layers to Viking Age inhumations. The excavation detected the presence of a cultural layer c 0,1-0,2 m thick, covering most of the appointed area and containing finds of knapped flint and small amounts of burned and unburned bone. Secondarily to the cultural layer were found four features interpreted as Iron Age burials, three of which are probably Viking Age inhumations. The fourth, a standing stone with a small pit in front, were excavated and 14C-dated to the Vendel period (c AD 650-800). Apart from a few fragments of burned bone this burial yielded mainly secondarily deposited Stone Age finds, including a transverse arrowhead which suggests a date of the cultural layer to the late Mesolithic or the early Neolithic. Four test pits, each 1 m2 in size, were dug through the cultural layer in order to determine its nature and content. Underneath the layer in one of the squares an inhumation burial was found, containing the poorly preserved remains of an adult in outstretched position, with a small flint scraper as the only preserved accompanying grave goods. Stratigraphic observations indicate that the burial is earlier than the cultural layer, however the bones were too decomposed to allow for a radiocarbon dating. A piece of charcoal found underneath the left shoulder was dated to c 4230-3970 cal BC, suggesting that the burial could well date to the late Mesolithic. If this is correct, it is possibly the oldest burial yet found in Kalmar County. The results of the excavation led the County Administrative Board of Kalmar to refuse the plans for house construction, thus no further excavation will be undertaken at the present and the area remains unexploited to this date.

This report presents the results from an archaeological excavation at Solberga 1:103 just east of Borgholm, Öland, carried out by Kalmar county museum during three weeks in August and September 2007. The area is rich in prehistoric remains, many of which dating from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age. A trial excavation in 2006 revealed the presence within the appointed area of hearths and cooking pits, and it was suggested that these constituted a continuation towards the northwest of the Bronze Age/early Iron Age settlement located some 150 m to the southeast and partly excavated in 1990.The excavation in 2007 resulted in a large number of sunken features, mainly clusters of hearths and cooking pits. The number of finds is very low, and post-built structures such as houses could not be detected. The interpretation suggested here is that the remains represent a specific kind of probably public activity, not necessarily connected to a dwelling site but characterised by the intensive use of fire in hearths and pits. Similar sites have been found in large parts of northern Europe, often very extensive and most often dated to the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. The close proximity in this case to the large Bronze Age cairn Blå rör might be of importance in the understanding of the site. Five radiocarbon dates from the site suggest that it was in use mainly during the early Iron Age, although a certain chronological depth of the site could also be detected. Three of the dates fall at around 200-1 cal BC, one date at c cal AD 1-200 and finally one date at c cal AD 550-650.